Sunday, 31 July 2011

Its been a really busy bike week this week, bikes going out and a few arriving. Made me reflect a bit on the trailers i've been using, a combination of recycled bed frames and hacked kiddy carriers. It took a good few months, a couple of close calls with pedestrians and a few bruises to figure out things like size and the strength of the hitch, but I think i've finally settled on two favorites now.

a small one for little collections....

.....and a bigger one for picking up a few bikes at a time. Predictably both put together on less than a shoestring budget, but work fantastically.

Since i've been picking up bikes on the trailers i've discovered that the only thing that enrages a motorist more than a cyclist, even more than a tandem with a child on trying to turn right...is a bicycle pulling a trailer piled up with more bicycles- must be the concentration of bicycle pheromones. I don't think i'm an inconsiderate cyclist, I don't filter, I do things like waiting at red lights etc and i've read the highway code, but then I don't ride in the gutter (in all the potholes and glass) and don't dive out of the way to allow unmolested car travel either...all of this seems to provoke alot of engine revving and horn beeping- thank goodness for Ipods.

Had a very exciting additon to my own bike collection arrive today, purchased for the grand sum of £27.57, I made the short trip over to Solihull to pick up my very own retired Pashley Postmans bike

I can't believe how fantastic it is, outwardly it doesn't look that different to loads of 3 speed bikes i've had, but once you've ridden it and got used to the tray at the front not moving when you turn there's no comparison, its great!...So you'll soon see me zipping around the city on the new bike with my tools in the front and a homemade trailer on the back....probably with several unhappy car drivers following closely behind!